Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1939

In the beginning, Pram thought she had secured an advantage by seizing the initiative and being the first to expose Vahn’s ’true nature’. Instead, she ended up experiencing first-hand that Vahn’s words of warning should be always be taken seriously.

Since she had gone out of her way to confront him in such a manner, Vahn decided to teach Pram a lesson by incorporating his understanding of Petting Laws into his mastery of the Hands of Nirvana. His sensitivity towards all forms of energy also allowed him to map every nerve and meridian in her entire body with a simple touch, so, shortly after he began fluffing up her ears, he channeled energy into his thumbs before lightly kneading the interior fur with a relaxed smile on his face.

As a result of her status, it had been many years since Pram had allowed anyone to freely caress her ears. Only the Lord of the Lo Po Bia Family had the inherent qualifications to do so, but, unless she had accrued some kind of merit, earning his affection was exceedingly difficult. Thus, in response to the enervating tremble that seemed to jolt her entire body with a pleasant sensation, Pram couldn’t help but wonder if her sensitivity had been affected by years of negligence.

Unfortunately, by the time that thought had crossed her mind, Pram was, quite literally, in the palm of Vahn’s hands. Her silvery eyes had immediately glossed over, and, though she managed to grab his wrists by pure instinct, her grip was reminiscent of a newborn infant. As a result, Vahn was able to dig his fingers into her surprisingly thick head of hair, his fingers emanating an indistinguishable rainbow hue that caused Pram’s nervous system to light up like the night sky of a grand celebration as a sonorous ’Ahh~’ emanated from her throat.

Ignoring the looks he was receiving from the crowd, Vahn allowed Pram’s excessively relaxed body to lean against him, his left hand moving to support her waist as his right gravitated to the base of her tail. The feeling of her body resting against him was pleasant in its own right, but, the moment his hand combed through the thick downy coat, the shape of Vahn’s pupils changed from circles to slits as he slowly and methodically traced its length.

Though it wasn’t discernible to everyone on the platform, those with more refined olfactory senses visibly flinched the moment they smelled the veritable flood of pheromones emanating from Pram’s body. Some even had to cover the lower halves of their faces, and, were it not for the fact she had preemptively ordered them to observe without interfering, the group that had accompanied Pram would have stepped in long ago.

With the rather infamous Elder turning to putty in his embrace, Vahn was tempted to give everyone a hard lesson by demonstrating just how ridiculous Petting Laws could be. If he wanted to, he could freely shape flesh just as easily as he could a multitude of magical metals, and, so long as the target didn’t resist, there was very little he couldn’t do...

As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn became aware of a moist feeling soaking through the fabric of his left shoulder. Turning his head, he found Elder Pram drooling against him with a thoroughly insensible expression on her face. This promptly cleared his mind of wayward thoughts, as, rather than appearing drunk on pleasure, she more closely resembled someone who had recently received a lobotomy.

Deciding the buxom leopardess had learned her lesson, Vahn began to lightly pat Pram’s back as he passed his gaze over various onlookers before settling on Maschenny and saying, "Don’t say I didn’t warn you..." in a relaxed yet discernibly solemn tone. This caused the blue-haired Princess to adopt an amused smile, and, had the Law of Identity been emulating her at the moment, Vahn would have heard her reply, "I’m looking forward to it..." before promptly departing.

Having noticed the fiery glimmer in the woman’s eyes, Vahn couldn’t help shaking his head as he internally remarked, ("We’ll see if you can keep up that act of yours after encountering your chibi version...")

Feeling the tension gradually returning to Pram’s previously limp body, Vahn took advantage of her growing alertness to whisper, "Consider this a warning...the next time you try playing games, expect to be out of commission for at least a month..."

With Vahn’s voice tickling the sensitive interior hairs, Pram’s ears twitched a few times as a pleasant tremble ran through her body. This compelled her to lean against him for support, but, the moment she tried nestling against him, Vahn separated their bodies and forced her to stand on her own two feet. Then, just as a feeling of loss had begun to wash over her, he gave a perfunctory wave towards the onlookers before promptly vanishing from view.

Not expecting Vahn’s sudden departure, the words Pram had been intending to speak got caught in her throat as she instinctually raised her hand to grasp at empty air. This compounded the peculiar feeling of loss, but, before she could fully process what she was feeling, her expression soured when she detected the overpowering scent of her own aroma. There was also an unpleasant chill between her thighs, and, though much of this could be attributed to the sudden onset of her heated state, a fair amount of the fluid soaking her undergarments possessed a pale golden hue...

Realizing what had happened, Pram’s face became remarkably red as the surrounding temperature rapidly decreased. At the same time, a phenomenal amount of Shinsu began to gather around her, gradually freezing her surroundings until a voice over the intercom said, "If you go any further, you will be violating the rules of Last Station. Though the Reception Area is accessible to outsiders, it is still a region intended for Regulars. Please keep this in mind."

Though she wasn’t happy about it, Pram forced herself to calm down as she swept aside the frozen traces of her mishap with a sweep of her hand. Then, after passing her gaze over the other groups of representatives, she made her way to her own group before looking down at a young man with very similar characteristics to herself, asking, "Did you record everything?"

Bowing low in response to Pram’s question, the youth allowed his previously invisible Lighthouse to manifest as he explained, "The recording functioned without issue, but the playback shows no signs of the Sage Dragon Emperor."

Though she had already anticipated this, Pram couldn’t help but frown with a pensive look on her face. Shortly thereafter, however, her expression became uncharacteristically fierce as she ordered, "You are to delete that recording and remove all traces of its existence. If I discover it has somehow leaked, even in private, I will personally skin each and every one of you."

Well aware of how serious she was, the youth quickly deleted the recording before going one step further and using a Baang of Shinsu to completely obliterate the silvery Lighthouse. This earned him an approving nod from Pram, but, understanding others would have made recordings of their own, her usual smile was nowhere to be seen. It was going to take an extreme amount of time and effort to try and bury this incident, and, depending on how cooperative the other groups were, more than a few heads would roll by the time she was done...

As this thought crossed her mind, so too did the memory of an inordinately tall woman with pale-blue hair. This caused Pram to gnash her teeth in frustration, as, even if she resorted to force, there was nothing she could do against Maschenny. She was only Rank 187 in the Tower’s Rankings, and, while this was nothing to scoff at, it was nothing compared to a Top 100 Princess of Jahad with a 13 Month Series.

Realizing how troublesome the situation had become, Pram’s first instinct was to blame Vahn, but, the moment that thought crossed her mind, a phantom tingling caused her ears and tail to twitch. For a brief moment, she actually thought he had snuck up on her, and, as a result, her entire body jolted as she moved to cover her ears and protect her tail.

Seeing nothing but a quickly emptying platform behind her, Pram slowly retracted her hands from her ears only to notice the same persistent tingling reappear. It was even more prominent around the base of her tail, and, after several seconds had passed, it seemed to slowly spread through the rest of her body.

Feeling her core temperature gradually increasing, Pram avoided looking directly at her entourage as she ordered, "Return to the Karakoram and await my orders. I have a personal matter to attend..."

Without waiting for the group’s reply, Pram used her own Lighthouse to teleport directly to one of the private rooms they had booked. There, she screamed at those resting inside to leave, as, for the first time in a long while, her body felt like it was burning from the inside. This was an indication she was going into heat, but, compared to the rather mild symptoms she had experienced over the last couple of millennia, this particular heat was reminiscent of the period in which she had just reached sexual maturity.

Concluding that Vahn had done ’something’ to her body, Pram was tempted to seek him out, but, remembering how easily had handled her, combined with his parting words, she was actually a little scared to face him so soon. Her instincts told her that she might no longer be the same person if he managed to get his hands on her a second time. There was something about his touch that affected the most primal parts of her nature, and, had he not shown her compassion, she might have already fallen irreversibly into his clutches...

Briefly correlating Vahn’s ability with that of her Lord and Father, the Leader of the Lo Po Bia Family, Pram’s expression became progressively ruddier as the fire in her body quickly became unbearable. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to be impregnated by the seed of a strong male, but, with her mission taking precedence over all else, the only thing she could do was mindlessly tend to the demands of her body. This could take several days, but, so long as she wasn’t interrupted, her prior training should allow her to gradually regain control...

Following his departure from the train platform, Vahn arrived at a place colloquially known as the Mega Dome City. This was the residential district attached to the Last Station, and, so long as you had completed your journey onboard the Hell Express, you could stay as long as you want without spending a single Point. This led to a number of Regulars retiring at the Last Station, as, even when compared to the accommodations of Rankers, the suites and amenities provided were exceptional.

As the only person to officially complete the Hell Express this year, Vahn had been provided access to one of the highest quality suites. This included a living space roughly the size of a football field, an attached recreational room, an indoor pool, a private hot tub, and, for those prone to cooking their own meals, a fully furnished and heavily stocked kitchen. It was honestly a little too much, but, considering the ’hell’ most Regulars experienced prior to reaching this point, it was understandable that the Administration would try and compensate them for their efforts. This, in turn, allowed them to make a good impression on rising stars, and, by keeping them in one place, it afforded the Great Families time to gather information and deploy their representatives to recruit unique talents.

Fortunately, while the ruler of the Last Station generally cooperated with the Ten Great Families, he had enough sense to ensure that the Mega Dome City was off-limits to people who hadn’t passed on the Hell Express. His original purpose for building the Last Station was to ensure that those who had suffered onboard the Hell Express had the chance to experience a paradise without worry. The only reason he capitulated to letting the Ten Great Families send their representatives was that their influence didn’t really give people the option of ignoring them.

Replacing the bed in the master bedroom with one of his own, Vahn allowed himself to fall back with his arms spread wide, soundlessly impacting the plush yet resistant surface. This was a feature built into most of the beds he employed, and, so long as he took measures to prevent sound from leaking out, he could make love to one woman without waking another. This was a very important feature, not because he needed to hide his antics, but because it afforded those who had recently passed out the opportunity to sleep peacefully...

With thoughts of the previous incident still fresh on his mind, Vahn spent several minutes simply staring up at the roof before averting his eyes downward to stare at the petite redhead straddling his waist. This was none other than the Law of Identity, and, as was often the case as of late, she was patiently waiting for him to ask questions in order to transform. This was the thing that gave her life meaning, and, were it not for the fact she could be extremely affectionate, even while assuming the identities of other people, Vahn would have been even more grateful for her assistance. Instead, he often found himself in rather compromising positions, and, while he might be the only one aware of her antics, they could be pretty stressful at times...

Demonstrating this capacity to its fullest extent, the Law of Identity spontaneously changed into an inordinately beautiful woman with milky skin, pale-blue hair, and electric-blue eyes the moment his mind wandered to Maschenny. To make matters even worse, she had dismissed with the blue dress that the former had been wearing as it would have interfered with her ability to continue straddling his waist. Thus, despite their slightly antagonistic relationship, Vahn had to tolerate a nearly-naked Maschenny sitting in his lap as the Law of Identity eagerly betrayed everything the sly Princess was plotting...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’RIP’,’Godhand Secret Technique #13: Phantom Petting...!’,’Bruh, what are you even complaining about...?’)